baleenThe whole t.A.T.u phenomenon is so Russian. It's the crassest form of exploitative humanly possible.

Cena_markHow did the "lesbian" angle work in Russia? Or did they do that after becoming more internationally known?

SteamPoweredKleenexI'm guessing they won't be performing at the opening ceremonies for the next Winter Olympics.

I don't know what state Russia will be in after Putin dies, but I'll be interested to see how it works out.

EvilHomerIf I remember my tATu trivia correctly, they didn't start marketing themselves as lesbians until after they went international. I went to school with a Russian kid who was very upset about this; he thought they were whoring themselves out and disrespecting their "art" by taking the focus away from The Music.

EvilHomerStrike my last, I just checked into it, and it seems their time in Russia was exceedingly brief. Apparently they were conceived of as a "lesbian group" and intended for international audiences right from the get-go; sort of like the Village People, only targeted at straight guys.

Here's a very interesting quote from Wikipedia:

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... critics have also targeted their former producer Ivan Shapovalov for their creation. According to Shapovalov, he admitted in numerous interviews that he came up with the image of the group by visiting pornographic websites, and other sites relating to pedophilia[62] He explained; "I saw that most people look up pornography on the Internet and of those, most are looking for underage sex, I saw their needs weren’t fulfilled. Later, it turned out, I was right. This is the same as my own desires. I prefer underage girls."[62]

Cena_markProbably some of their success has to do with the fact that most homophobes are totally cool with lesbians.

Leviticus 18:22 : "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."
Leviticus 18:23: "Thou May watch Lesbian porn, for it is hot."